Tag: fine art

Sanguine Machine new works by Beau Stanton

On Exhibit: September 3rd– September 24th, 2011

Opening Reception: September 3rd, 2011 from 6-11pm

Gallery Hijinks is proud to present Sanguine Machine: Antediluvian Artifacts from Futures Past, a solo exhibition by Beau Stanton. This collection of paintings is heavily influenced by the relationship between destruction and creation, the end of a cycle, and the beauty that can be found in its degradation. Please join us for the opening reception on September 3rd, 2011 from 6-10pm.

In Sanguine Machine Beau Stanton takes an optimist’s approach to the apocalypse. He explores the dynamic between graphic iconography and classicism, juxtaposing destructive imagery with the aesthetic excess of Victorianism. The collection provides visual touchstones for the viewer through iconic symbols that hold esoteric meaning revealing a complex narrative.

The work combines classical oil painting with intricate silkscreen patterns inspired by pre-modern architecture, ornamentation, letterpress printing designs, and decayed infrastructure. In search for historical reference, Stanton begins his artistic process by exploring abandoned 19th century sites around the greater New York City area. He collects photos and artifacts from these places to create a foundation for a compelling image. The initial drawing and designs are combined into single silk screens that are used to formulate the composition. After the ornate environments are completed, he then goes on to render the entire piece in oil paint. Combining letterpress designs with masterful oil painting techniques, Stanton manipulates focus, light and perspective.

A member of the third generation of Pop Surrealism, Stanton hails from California and is influenced heavily by Realist painters Andrew Wyeth and Alphonse Mucha as well as the Aesthetic Movement of the late 19th Century. He relocated to New York after graduation in 2008, and has since been mentored by New York Pop Surrealist Ron English. He has also curated pop-up exhibitions in both New York and Los Angeles and has shown work with Ad Hoc Art, Opera New York, and Last Rites Galleries.

Sanguine Machine: Antediluvian Artifacts from Futures Past opens September 3rd and runs through September 24th, 2011 and is open to the public. For more information on the exhibition or Beau Stanton please visit galleryhijinks.com or email us at info@galleryhijinks.com

08.16.2011 // Leave a comment // Link →

Art Review & Opening Reception Photos

We just received some great photographs of the opening reception of Boreas. It was the warmest night of the year and everyone was in good spirits. We are also happy to share a review of Boreas by Lisa Congdon and Sarah Applebaum by the Art Business contributors.

Review by Clare Coppel: “Boreas,” a show with pretty cool window installations by Sarah Applebaum and mixed media/paintings by Lisa Congdon features three of my favorite guilty hipster/nerd pleasures– neon, geometric prints inspired by indiginous peoples, and cute furry animals. “Ooooh cute animals, nope can’t hate on that.” At least I didn’t wear that Navajo print sweatshirt or I’d match the work on the walls, though this work is inspired by Icelandic stuff– snow not desert. I’ve always wanted to go to Iceland. I want a new tattoo, maybe a cute furry animal? Is there neon tattoo ink? For um, geometric patterns?
Review by Mairead O’Connor: Lisa Congdon creates paintings and collges that illustrate Icelandic folk culture and four seasons. She focuses on pattern, animals, and the changing light of the sun. Sarah Applebaum’s work is made up of geometric shapes colored in the grey scale between black and white. Her large installations are actually hand sewn and symbolic.
Review by RWM: Great trip to the North. Not just a trip to the cold beautiful lands, but also to their people, transformed by their surroundings. The cold wild is outside, but also within. Enjoy both colors and shapes. Impressive. Emotions are captured here in window sculptures as well.

Here are a few snapshots of the opening reception. To see more photos of the opening check out Art Business Gallery Reviews.

Sarah Applebaum window installation. Image by Allan Bamberger

Birdseye view – art by Sarah Applebaum & Lisa Congdon. Image by Mairead O’Connor

07.15.2011 // Leave a comment // Link →

The Art of Buying Art Online

“When was the last time you set foot in a gallery and felt comfortable enough to inquire about pricing and potential payment plans for a piece of work you had your eyes on? As much as the stone-cold gallerist times are behind us, let’s face it—buying art can still be an intimidating process.” – Allison McCarthy, contributing writer for 7×7 Magazine

Last week we were mentioned in the 7×7 article, “The Art of Buying Art Online“. We’re very happy to be recognized in the “list of local galleries pioneering the art-on-the-web frontier”. What are your thoughts of the concept of selling art online? Is it taboo or will the rest of the fine art world eventually jump on the band wagon?

07.14.2011 // 1 Comment // Link →

Point of Vision new works by Gregory Ito

On Exhibit: August 6th – August 27th, 2011

Opening Reception: August 6th, 2011 from 6-10pm

Gallery Hijinks is proud to present Point of Vision, a collection of painting, sculpture, and installation by Gregory Ito. In this new body of work Gregory continues his exploration of the concept of time, broadening his focus from lunar cycles to the cycle of a day, or rather everyday, from dawn to dusk and back again. Please join us for the opening reception on August 6th, 2011 from 6-10pm.

Throughout our humanly existence, time is depicted through the sequenced deconstruction of the constant relationship between night and day. The relationship we hold with the Sun, Moon, and Earth has been an evolution of ideas that continues to the days of contemporary society. The tools we use to define time have changed from Stone Hedge to the modern day calendar.

Gregory Ito’s current body of work is a reflection of human perception of these shifts presented through the mediums of painting, sculpture, and installation. The images he creates depict new ways to visually understand the concept of time, and use the celestial forms: Sun, Moon, and Earth, as reference points to the relationships that are discussed within each piece. The body of work carries this dialogue of our human connection with the linear progression forward into the future.

The atmosphere of a space also plays a crucial role in the presentation of ideas like these. Awnings and shrine like architecture is present in many installations, to aid in the construction of sacred space. Sacred space is commonly used to house ideas that are much larger than our collective consciousness, and are extremely difficult to grasp. Ito’s constructions of sacred space are intended to contain the concept of time and the ideas related that shift our human perception of time, and create new avenues of understanding.

“My work is my intention to transcend an individual to a basic way of looking at the world we live in, and the universe we are part of. I hope to reveal the value and power we have to seek the true reasons we are living for. It is to inspire people to grow together.” -Gregory Ito

Gregory received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2008. He is Co-Founder of the Ever Gold Gallery, and Co-Founder/Editor of The San Francisco Arts Quarterly (SFAQ). He currently works and lives in San Francisco.

Point of Vision opens August 6th and runs through August 27th, 2011 and is open to the public. For more information on the exhibition or Gregory Ito please email us at info@galleryhijinks.com.

07.13.2011 // Leave a comment // Link →

Lisa Congdon Podcast on My Love For You.

Photo credit: Meighan O’Toole

Yesterday Meighan O’Toole from My Love For You. launched her most recent podcast interview with the lovely Lisa Congdon. Hearing artist interviews straight from the artists themselves is such an awesome idea and Meighan is certainly on a roll. In this interview Lisa talks about her story as a late bloomer in the art world, her inspiration for her solo exhibition Boreas and well … I wont spoil it all for you. Click here to listen to the podcast on iTunes.

Also check out the Lisa Congdon Studio Visit featured on My Love For You a few weeks back! Her studio will make you jealous.

07.12.2011 // Leave a comment // Link →

New Prints by Lisa Congdon

Check out Lisa Congdon‘s new prints at our online shop! Archival prints of original pencil drawings, available in 8.5″ x 11″ & 11″ x 14″.

07.06.2011 // Leave a comment // Link →

Studio Vist with Gregory Ito

Last week we stopped by Gregory Ito’s art studio in the SOMA district of San Francisco. We took a quick peek as he builds a new collection of work titled Point of Vision opening this August 2011. The body of work comprised of paintings, sculpture, and installation are very much influenced by the concept of time, and use the celestial forms: Sun, Moon, and Earth. “My work is my intention to transcend an individual to a basic way of looking at the world we live in, and the universe we are part of. I hope to reveal the value and power we have to seek the true reasons we are living for. It is to inspire people to grow together.”-Gregory Ito

Luna the cat.

07.05.2011 // Leave a comment // Link →

SF Examiner Article on Boreas & Installation Shots

If you didn’t catch the SF Examiner article on Boreas in yesterday’s paper then here’s a your chance.

Artist Lisa Congdon focuses on arctic pleasures

By: Lauren Gallagher | Special To The Examiner | 06/29/11 8:00 PM

“Despite being in the midst of summer, San Francisco artist Lisa Congdon’s latest works — paintings and mixed media — are rather arctic.

Congdon’s show, “Boreas,” which opens Saturday at Gallery Hijinks, draws inspiration from “Heima,” a documentary by Icelandic minimalist musicians Sigur Rós, who are filmed playing venues from Reykjavik to the meadows of Iceland.

“I’ve always been attracted to barren, arctic landscapes in general, and I think that watching the documentary was the tipping point for this new body of work,” Congdon says. “In the same way that I’m interested in the desert, there’s something about the barrenness of the landscape that’s really appealing to me.”

Congdon’s style is distinctive and popular for its simplicity and sense of geometry, but it maintains an organic quality.

Although her recent series is inspired by the sensibilities of Nordic countries, only a couple icebergs appear and the collection bears a sustained vitality, even warmth.

The log cabin on stilts in “Sunrise” is inviting, and the smattering of quilts and their geometrics hint at domesticity and the comforts of home, placing her folk-art influences front and center.

“Nature was a jumping-off point,” Congdon says, “but once I started delving in and researching the natural beauty of Nordic and Arctic countries, I discovered all of these older handicraft and folk patterns from the region and I think in some ways that became the main part of the show.”

Gouache, acrylic paints, shadow boxes, graphite, ephemera and even fake fur are used in “Boreas,” continuing Congdon’s familiarity with various media, but she returns to painting for ultimate fulfillment.

“I like cutting paper, layering, the dimension of collage and the softness of working with pencil, but painting is more gratifying,” she says. “Paint is fluid. Your work can evolve over a longer period of time.”

As a self-taught artist who came into her own in her 30s, some might consider Congdon a late bloomer, but she sees her path as an asset.

“If I had fallen into doing this when I was at the typical age of 20 or 21, I might have taken a completely different path,” she says. “I might have gone to school and gotten burned out and done something different.

“Making art evolved really naturally for me in the course of my life. I think the experience I had in my 20s — before I was making art, having regular jobs, making a regular paycheck and working really hard for somebody else — built my character in other ways.

“I really appreciate the fact that I can wake up and make paintings for a living.”- Read more at the San Francisco Examiner.

Plus for curiosity purposes, a few quick pictures of installation process at Gallery Hijinks today! We hope to see you all tomorrow.

Click on this picture, Whitney is about to drop a hammer on his head. (photobomb for Joey Mendez!)

07.01.2011 // 2 Comments // Link →

Studio Vist with Sarah Applebaum

Last week we checked out Sarah Appleaum’s art studio in San Francisco. We were eager to see her material rich creations for her window installation in the upcoming show Boreas with Lisa Congdon which opens this Saturday (July, 2nd, 2011 from 6-10pm). Applebaum’s new-psych work has played a key part in reinvigorating installation and soft sculpture through her use of textiles in contemporary art and we cant wait to see the finished installation!